THE COMEDY COMES TO TOWN
Heather Arnold and
Alys Hurn take a look
at the laughable acts
coming to South Wales.
T
he summer is slowly fading and, as the
autumn sets in, there will be many of us
in need of something to smile about. With
the insane selection of big name standup
acts heading our way why not take that smile a step
further and book yourself in for some hearty laughs.
The Brig Society man himself, Marcus Brigstocke,
will be at Pontardawe Arts Centre (Sat 8 Nov. Info:
www.nptartsandents.co.uk) – as will wonderfully
funny Welshman (well, half Welsh) Mark Watson
as he focuses on self doubt in his new show Flaws
(Pontardawe Arts Centre, Fri 10 Oct; Sherman
Cymru, Cardiff, Sat 1 Nov. Tickets: £16-£18. Info:
www.nptartsandents.co.uk / www.shermancymru.
co.uk). Also hitting the Sherman is
Ruby Wax (Sherman Cymru, Cardiff,
Tues 28 Oct. Tickets: £20) – who is
taking a silly look at the very serious
topic of mental health in her fact-filled
show Sane New World.
St David’s Hall in Cardiff is getting its
fair share of acts with Googlewhack
Adventure star Dave Gorman (Sat 25 Oct. Tickets:
£20. Info: www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk)
bringing his PowerPoint presentation to the stage;
the psychedelic Noel Fielding (Sat 22 Nov. Tickets:
£25) showcasing his hallucinatory humour and Jon
Richardson (Sat 29 Nov. Tickets: £19.50) trying to
change his neurotic ways in his new show Nidiot.
More big names are heading to the Swansea Grand
Theatre to strut their satirical stuff. Radio 4’s News
Quiz Scottish star Susan Calman (Sat 4 Oct. Tickets:
£14.50/£12.50. Info: www.swanseagov.co.uk) will be
ignoring what is thought to be ‘appropriate womanly
behaviour’ in her show Lady Like, while Dawn French
(Sun 16 Nov. Tickets: £35-£39.50) will be taking a
more personal journey in her biographical show 30
Million Minutes.
Laughter loving Liverpudlian John Bishop’s show
Work In Progress at the Swansea Grand is sold out
but seats are available for his Cardiff performances
(Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Tues 4 + Wed 5 Nov.
Tickets: £34.50. Info: www.livenation.co.uk).
Also making the Motorpoint Arena amusing are
Miranda Hart (Wed 15 + Sat 18 Oct. Tickets: £32)
with her My What I Call, Live Show
and the astoundingly energetic Lee Evans (Fri
24-Thurs 30 Nov. Tickets: £34.50).
Cardiff’s comedy connoisseurs, the Glee Club, will
have its usual lineup of top-standard standup but
with a number of special guests including Rich
Hall (Glee Club, Cardiff Bay, Sun 2 Nov. Tickets:
£17.50. Info: www.glee.co.uk) and his grizzly
gags, and David O’Doherty (Wed 12 Nov. Tickets:
£15/£13) who will have his tiny keyboard on hand
to help.
Reminding everyone to laugh and enjoy
themselves every once in a while is this year’s
Comedy Port. Now in its fifth year running,
Comedy Port will be bringing some world class
acts to the area.
Headlining the festival will be Live At The
Apollo's Jason Manford with his First World
Problems and witty banter on Sat 11 Oct.
Shappi Khorsandi returns on Thurs 9 Oct with
her presumably Pharrell-inspired Because I’m
Shappy. She’ll also be taking her Shappiness
to the Glee Club in Cardiff Bay on Wed 5 Nov.
If you’re feeling a little nostalgic then Eric
And Little Ern will be there to showcase
homage to classic comic duo Morecambe
and Wise. Finally, if you are in the mood
for some new talent then the Comedy
Sessions Takeover is your chance.
With a special guest comedy host to be
announced, it gives any budding comedian
a chance to have their time in the spotlight.
Comedy Port, The Riverfront,
Newport, Mon 6-Sat 11 Oct.
Tickets: £1-£29.50. Info: 01633
656757 / www.newport.gov.uk
In The Hut – that was in 2007.
The show was performed in a hut,
in Edinburgh and that title did,
weirdly, fit the show. I called it that
and then immediately regretted it
and tried to change it but it was
done – the programme had gone
to the printers. I then worried quite
a lot about who would be coming
a show called that. But actually
I think it was a good thing. That
show was all over the place and
nothing particularly worked or
made sense so the title suited it.
The second show was called The
Slutcracker and I stand by that
one – that seemed to encapsulate
the mixture of baseness and
elegance my onstage persona
was after. Then all bets were off.
Masterslut came next and now
this. Other titles were in the mix,
Eyes Wide Slut was favourite
for a while. My mum thought of
The Slut Whisperer. My brother
likes Utterly Slutterly. Getting the
floodgates closed will be tricky.
You used a bath in your last
show – what made you decide
to use a bed this time?
I had a good idea that involved a
bed. In Masterslut I had a bath.
Everyone hated me for it (my
stage manager in particular), but
it was worth it. With this one I
had this bed-based idea and told
my producer. He was relieved
I’d come up with something that
didn’t require 80 litres of hot
soapy water, I think.
Tim Key: Single White Slut,
Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff.
TIckets: £15 / £12.50.
Info: 029 2030
4400 /
www.
chapter.
org/
timkey